Event focuses on beer and food during Old Fashioned Festival

Recreation  Chamber of commerce's Brews and BBQ in second year, celebrates local craft brew

Newberg is typically categorized as a wine town, meaning there arent many activities for beer lovers. Last year Francisco Stoller, along with the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce, decided to change that.

Were in the middle of wine country and (while) Brews and BBQ is not a new concept, we wanted to have one, Stoller said.

Back for the second year, Brews and BBQ is partnering with the Old Fashioned Festival to provide great beer and great food.

We thought it would be a perfect to have the beer festival with barbecue that went along with the Old Fashioned Festival, Stoller said, especially since the festival doesnt serve alcohol. It might evolve eventually into a barbecue competition and be at the cultural center, but for now we like it here. We got awesome feedback which is why we wanted to elevate it even more this year. Everyone loved it.

The festival will feature three food vendors and five breweries, including the recently opened Deception Brewing Co. in Dundee.

The foods going to be amazing and then we have genuine local craft breweries, he said. Were so lucky to be in the area we are with the amount of culinary greatness we have around us. We in Newberg had two out of the three best restaurants in Oregon.

Even with the focus on beer, Stoller said the event is meant to be family friendly. There will be games including cornhole and giant jenga, live music and root beer floats from kegged root beer. However, after 7 p.m. the festival will shift focus and be more for adults. This includes the new VIP room as well, which will offer free five-minute massages.

Last year the festival ended before the Old Fashioned Festival fireworks, but this year will continue until 11 p.m. so people can watch them from the First and Howard streets space.

The event is really one of a kind in this area, Stoller said. Its really unique and Im really excited about it. Im not as much of a wine guy so Im really passionate about this.

Brews and BBQ runs July 25-26. Tickets are $8 and include three beer tastes. For more information, visit www.brewsandbbq.com.